--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fundamental steps of expansion that…" description: "\"The fundamental steps of expansion that will open a person, over time, to the full flowering of his or her individuality are the same for both genders...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/gail-sheehy-3031_age_the-fundamental-steps-of-expansion-that_1054845.jpg" --- # The fundamental steps of expansion that will open a… ![“The fundamental steps of expansion that will open a person, over time, to the full flowering of his or her individuality are the same for both genders. But men and women are rarely in the same place struggling with the same questions at the same age.” quote by Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/gail-sheehy-3031_age_the-fundamental-steps-of-expansion-that_1054845.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/gail-sheehy-3031_age_the-fundamental-steps-of-expansion-that_1054845.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/gail-sheehy-3031_age_the-fundamental-steps-of-expansion-that_1054845.jpg) > “The fundamental steps of expansion that will open a person, over time, to the full flowering of his or her individuality are the same for both genders. But men and women are rarely in the same place struggling with the same questions at the same age.” [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal growth follows similar stages for all, though gendered experiences differ. **In simple terms:** Growth stages are universal but gendered contexts vary. Key Takeaway Recognize shared growth while honoring gender differences. Themes development gender lifecycles Mood reflective empathetic Type sociological inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - relationship counseling - educational programs - healthcare policy Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions support parallel growth for all genders? - What barriers prevent shared experiences? A Different Perspective Gendered expectations may limit access to shared resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Expansion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expansion/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Flowering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowering/) [Flowering Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowering-individuality-2543377/) [Fundamentals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentals/) [Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender/) [Genders Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genders-men-2543378/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Individuality Genders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality-genders-2543376/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Men Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-women/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“In China there are said to be three genders—men, women, and women with graduate degrees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-cameron/in-china-there-are-said-to-be-three-genders-men-women-and-women-with/) [Marc Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-cameron/) > [“It is possible the world is divided into three genders - there are men, there are women and then there are women who choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christos-tsiolkas/it-is-possible-the-world-is-divided-into-three-genders-there-are-men/) [Christos Tsiolkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christos-tsiolkas/) > [Leaders are people we as followers want to regard with awe as the fullest flowering of our own possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/leaders-are-people-we-as-followers-want-to-regard-with-awe-as-the/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [The work of adult life is not easy. As in childhood, each step presents not only new tasks of development but requires a letting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/the-work-of-adult-life-is-not-easy-as-in-childhood-each-step-presents/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Bamboo is not a weed, it's a flowering plant. Bamboo is a magnificent plant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-lacy/bamboo-is-not-a-weed-it-s-a-flowering-plant-bamboo-is-a-magnificent/) [Steve Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-lacy/) > [Liberty and morality had to win their way slowly over many centuries, until finally expanding liberty made possible the great technological advance of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/liberty-and-morality-had-to-win-their-way-slowly-over-many-centuries/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [The world is always full of brilliant youth which fades into grey and embittered middle age: the first flowering takes everything. The great men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-world-is-always-full-of-brilliant-youth-which-fades-into-grey-and/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Love has to be…flowering like the stars, and measureless as a kiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/love-has-to-be-flowering-like-the-stars-and-measureless-as-a-kiss/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [The dimensions of a work of art are seldom realized by the author until the work is accomplished. It is like a flowering dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-dimensions-of-a-work-of-art-are-seldom-realized-by-the-author/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Each bud flowers but once and each flower has but its minute of perfect beauty; so, in the garden of the soul each feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/each-bud-flowers-but-once-and-each-flower-has-but-its-minute-of/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [Who owns Cross Creek? The red-birds, I think, more than I, for they will have their nests even in the face of delinquent mortgages..It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/who-owns-cross-creek-the-red-birds-i-think-more-than-i-for-they-will/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [To be a stranger in a strange land: Whenever one feasts, one thinks of one's brother twice as much as before, There where my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wang-wei/to-be-a-stranger-in-a-strange-land-whenever-one-feasts-one-thinks-of/) [Wang Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wang-wei/) > [Kanan is a big road through the Santa Monica Mountains. Between mid-March and mid-April, when you get over to the western side of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-mcginley/kanan-is-a-big-road-through-the-santa-monica-mountains-between-mid/) [John C. McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-mcginley/) > [Passion, that thing of beauty, that flowering without roots, has to be born, live and die without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-leblanc/passion-that-thing-of-beauty-that-flowering-without-roots-has-to-be/) [Georgette Leblanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-leblanc/) > [I’ve blamed her for all of this, for leaving, for ruining me. And maybe that was the seed of it, but from that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/i-ve-blamed-her-for-all-of-this-for-leaving-for-ruining-me-and-maybe/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) ## More by Gail Sheehy > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/to-be-tested-is-good-the-challenged-life-may-be-the-best-therapist/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [No one can control the aging process or the trajectory of illness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/no-one-can-control-the-aging-process-or-the-trajectory-of-illness/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [“Further discomfort from these new realities afflicts men who expected to reach a certain level by dint of their white maleness but who now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/further-discomfort-from-these-new-realities-afflicts-men-who-expected/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [I dare to do things - that's how I survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-dare-to-do-things-that-s-how-i-survive/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Spontaneity, the hallmark of childhood, is well worth cultivating to counteract the rigidity that may otherwise set in as we grow older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/spontaneity-the-hallmark-of-childhood-is-well-worth-cultivating-to/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [By listening, by caring, by playing you back to yourself, friends ratify your better instincts and endorse your unique worth. Friends validate you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/by-listening-by-caring-by-playing-you-back-to-yourself-friends-ratify/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [The first thing one notices about Jill Abramson is her short stature. The second is her intensity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/the-first-thing-one-notices-about-jill-abramson-is-her-short-stature/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [“Ignorant of our own and our mate’s inner life, we are ruled largely by external forces at this stage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/ignorant-of-our-own-and-our-mate-s-inner-life-we-are-ruled-largely-by/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Family caregiving has become a predictable crisis. Americans are living longer and longer but dying slower and slower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/family-caregiving-has-become-a-predictable-crisis-americans-are/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [“The other real forces urging young people into marriages generally sift down to one of the following: the need for safety, the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/the-other-real-forces-urging-young-people-into-marriages-generally/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [I'd visually have that idea. I'm diving off the end of the diving board. I'm not going to be worried about if I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-d-visually-have-that-idea-i-m-diving-off-the-end-of-the-diving/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [To hear how special and wonderful we are is endlessly enthralling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/to-hear-how-special-and-wonderful-we-are-is-endlessly-enthralling/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [When men reach their sixties and retire, they go to pieces. Women go right on cooking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/when-men-reach-their-sixties-and-retire-they-go-to-pieces-women-go/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Journalism today is obviously in a major transition. Going to journalism school, learning how to write, working your way up in a little paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/journalism-today-is-obviously-in-a-major-transition-going-to/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) [Explore all 142 Gail Sheehy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fundamental steps of expansion that will open a person, over time, to the full flowering of his or her individuality are the same for both genders. 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